News: KHN Column: Social Security's Disabled Adult Child Program: A Key Program Often Below The Radar
In this Kaiser Health News essay about Medicare and Medicaid benefits for older, disabled adults, Harold Pollack explains how Social Security has become an effective insurance policy that was patched together by Republican and Democratic leadership over the past 75 years. Yet, despite its centrality as a social support for disabled adults, it still falls short of providing security, and individuals are forced to rely on other help, especially family, to plug the holes.
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News: New Rules Guarantee Patients' Right To Appeal Insurance Claim Denials
Insurance for mental health and substance use disorders should be protected by new laws establishing parity with other medical conditions. When consumers challenged termination of services, there were few opportunities to appeal. New rules from the Obama administration have now established regulations for third-party reviews of denials of claims.
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News: Despite Law, Mental Health Coverage Lacking In Many Insurance Plans
Despite last year's passage of the most comprehensive parity insurance law providing coverage for mental illnesses and substance use disorders, waivers still exclude people and many in the high-risk category will have to wait until 2014. KaiserHealthNews spoke to NAMI's Andrew Sperling to learn more about the application of this law to 140 million people affected by it. . .
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News: Push back attempts to delay parity
The Hill: "Health plans that say mental illnesses can't be treated like physical ailments are relying on an 'outdated argument' without merit that does not reflect 'three decades of scientific research,' 52 House members wrote in a recent letter to regulators. . .
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News: White House releases Patient's Bill of Rights
President Obama released a set of guarantees in the form of a patient's bill of rights following a meeting with insurance executives apropos new health reform laws. To read the entire document released by the White House, continue. . .
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News: How Grandfather Clause might change your insurance
KHN Column: Even With The 'Grandfather Clause' Protection, Change Is Coming To Most Health Plans In his latest Kaiser Health News column, done in collaboration with The New Republic, Jonathan Cohn writes: "Now that Karl Rove doesn't have a Republican president to advise anymore, he's been picking up some new hobbies. One of them is health care policy. In a recent column for the Wall Street Journal editorial page, Rove made the latest in a series of attacks on the new reform law. . .
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News: Parity or not, insurance companies saying no
An article in the Boston Globe confirms that limits on mental health claims are beginning to be felt in Mass. The Group Insurance Commission has led the way, but a psychologist who spent hours arguing with United Behavioral Health. . .
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News: Insurance companies attempt to delay parity
In what amounts to trying to delay full implementation of the mental health parity law passed in 2008, a coalition of insurance companies went to federal court in April to claim "irreperable harm" and challenge the date when the new regs take effect. The American Psychiatric Association and other advocates oppose these attempts to roll back parity. . .
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News: Passing health reform energizes advocates
Historic, jubilant, transformative were among the adjectives enunciated in the on-going celebrations of Sunday's historic pass of health reform in America. Recalling his mother who battled insurance companies on her deathbed, Pres. Barack Obama said passing this law represents the "core principles that everybody should have security." . .
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News: Catholic nuns, liberal politicians boost health reform prospects

News: Benefits of parity law showing

News: Interim parity regulations hailed

News: Mental health parity regs delayed
The three departments charged with writing regulations providing guidance for the implementation of Wellstone-Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act missed the Oct. 3 deadline. . .
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Consider This: Thought parity was a done deal?
. . .Think again
Full Story | Topics: addiction, advocacy, drug use, insurance, mental health, mental illness, parity, politics, reform | Comments (3)

News: Parity protection requires regulations

News: The loss of Sen. Edward Kennedy
Sadness crosses the nation mourning the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (1932-2009), passionate advocate for education, racial harmony, and for reforming labor and health laws. Kennedy's lifetime commitment. . .
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Did You Know: An equal number of Americans prefer status quo taxes instead of universal health insurance.
For information about this, and findings of other polls, see Kaiser Health News. The poll reflects a CNN opinion poll taken May 14-17, 2009....
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Consider This: Is talk of rationing a three-dollar bill?
. . .rationing in mental health
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News: Integratating mental health and substance use in reform

News: Obama nominates mental health expert
A noted economist specializing in mental health policy has been nominated to serve the Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of Planning and Evaluation. Sherry Glied, who frequently consults about mental health policy and insurance reform, co-authored the influential Better But Not Welland served the Council of Economic Advisors under two presidents, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. She currently teaches at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health where she describes her teaching by saying, "What...
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News: Insurance in Pa.
Two plans to expand insurance coverage for people with mental health needs are under discussion in Pennsylvania. One would allow children to remain on their parents' insurance up to the age of 29. Another upgrades the state's insurance plan "adding prescription drug coverage and mental health services."...
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News: Women's mental health patterns
Anxiety disorders, phobias and major depressions are more common in women than men according to a report from the Office on Women's Health. And while it has long been said that schizophrenia was a male disease, the rates are actually fairly close (1.26 percent for males compared to 1.0 percent for women), in comparison to PTSD, which appears to be twice as common in women and prevalent in women vets. The findings are part of a more intense effort to...
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News: New York's Timothy's Law for kids
New York's governor David Paterson announced support for making access to mental health treatment permanent for kids by extending Timothy's Law. The law is named after Timothy O'Clair, a 12 year-old who committed suicide and whose family ran into insurance barriers for mental health treatment. Paterson announced his support on what would have been Timothy's 21st birthday and on the heels of a report citing how effective the temporary law had been in getting kids services. The state subsidizes businesses...
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News: Vet groups say "no" to Obama plan
"Betrayal," "dead on arrival," and "unacceptable" are just a few of the objections to Pres. Barack Obama's proposal to shift financing of service injuries from the Veterans' Adminsitration (VA) to private insurers. This proposal, which senior members of congress have widely criticized, includes treatment for service related injuries such as Traumatic Brain Injury, PTSD, anxiety disorders, depression. It also seems incongruent with the testimony of Sec. Erik K. Shinseki at hearings last week about extensive mental health needs and the...
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News: House passes SCHIP
By a vote of 290-135, the House of Representatives passed SCHIP. In addition to a provision for mental health parity, the measure removes a waiting period for legal immigrants, adds pregnant women, and limits family eligibility to 300 percent federal poverty levels. All but two Democrats voted for the bill, and 40 Republicans joined the majority. President Obama is expected to sign the bill today....
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Track Legislation: Universal Health Insurance
Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich) introduced again a bill for single-payer, universal health insurance for comprehensive care. The bill specifies easy registration, a list of comprehensive services, and details about how service providers can participate and will be paid. HR 676 explicitly addresses mental health: (a) In General- The Program shall provide coverage for all medically necessary mental health care on the same basis as the coverage for other conditions. Licensed mental health clinicians shall be paid in the same manner...
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News: Stumbling toward children's health insurance
The 111th Congress was expected to quickly pass SCHIP once Barack Obama was in office. The House did (289-139), but the Senate has been stalling -- a vote is expected this week, perhaps today -- but party lines are drawn and the debate has become acrimonious. Today CQ reports that two amendments were vetoed that would require cost-sharing and limit enrollment of legal immigrants. Shedding light on the enormity of this problem, the Kaiser Family Foundation released its 2009 report...
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News: SCHIP passes House
The House voted 289 to 139 to approve children's health insurance, extending coverage to another 4 million kids in families earning up to 300 percent above the poverty level and lifting a time limit on documented immigrant children. If it rides through the Senate as easily, it could well be the first bill the new president finds on his desk awaiting signature. Congress failed to override two vetoes from President Bush last year....
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Consider This: Highway to wellness
. . .includes mental health
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News: Insurance shift on pre-existing condition
The New York Times reports the insurance industry is discussing provisionally accepting coverge for pre-existing conditions. This exclusion has been a nearly insurmountable obstacle for many and coupled with the passage of insurance parity, may have broad consequences for people with a mental illness or substance abuse disorder....
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News: Other nations surpass US in chronic care
Depression is one of the seven illnesses included in an international comparison of how nations treat chronic conditions. Authors report that the United States stands out for "gaps in coverage, and for high cost sharing even for patients with insurance" with more people suffering complex chronic health problems despite spending twice as much on health care ($7,000 per person versus $3,500 per person). Cost figured into the decision of more than half the American respondents not to seek care, and...
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Consider This: Local ballot boxes '08
. . . impact mental health
Full Story | Topics: children, diversion programs, insurance, Medicaid, politics, suicide | Comments (0)

News: Insurance costs outstrip wage growth
iStockInsurance costs have outstriped wage increases since 2000, in some instances growing five times faster, according to reports of Families USA. In Vermont, where premiums increased $5,286 to $12,340 for family coverage, wages only grew $4,430 during that same time. Families USA lists a state-by-state breakdown....
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News: Parity a civil rights issue says Domenici
Sen. Pete Domenici Time Magazine speaks with Sen. Pete Domenici, early proponent of eliminating insurance barriers for mental health and substance use treatments which became part of the $700 billion rescue package. Domenici learned of the bias in treating mental disorders first hand as the parent of a daughter diagnosed with schizophrenia....
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Consider This: PARITY PASSES -- Kudos
. . .Next steps essential
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Track Legislation: Parity bill goes back to House
The Senate voted to approve the rescue bill which contained the mental health parity bill. Now the package returns to the House. See Update on parity...
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Track Legislation: Parity bill goes back to House
The Senate voted to approve the rescue bill which contained the mental health parity bill. Now the package returns to the House. See Update on parity...
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News: Update on parity
Mental health parity was tucked into the Senate's $700 billion revised rescue package which passed 74 to 25 on Wednesday evening. The package returns to the House where Rep. Jim Ramstad told reporters that the inclusion of parity will influence his vote. Parity has been a signature issue for Ramstad who was among the 122 Republicans voting against the bill....
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News: Little time left for parity bill
With little time left for passage of mental health parity, an editorial in the New York Times calls for "a statesman who can push this worthy parity legislation through to final passage before adjournment." Despite overwhelming support, the bill remains deadlocked over recouping tax revenues in the next decade. Health policy expert, Dr. Howard Goldman, explains why parity matters....
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News: Little time left for parity bill
With little time left for passage of mental health parity, an editorial in the New York Times calls for "a statesman who can push this worthy parity legislation through to final passage before adjournment." Despite overwhelming support, the bill remains deadlocked over recouping tax revenues in the next decade. Health policy expert, Dr. Howard Goldman, explains why parity matters....
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Track Legislation: Michelle's Law (HR 2851) goes to president
The Senate passed a bill (HR 2851) allowing college students to retain their insurance if they are health issues require taking a leave of absence. The measure, which the House approved in July, was named for a student named Michelle who died of colon cancer....
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Track Legislation: Michelle's Law (HR 2851) goes to president
The Senate passed a bill (HR 2851) allowing college students to retain their insurance if they are health issues require taking a leave of absence. The measure, which the House approved in July, was named for a student named Michelle who died of colon cancer....
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News: House passes parity
By a vote of 376 to 47, the House passed insurance parity. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), one of the sponsors applauded the negotiations leading to the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (H.R. 6983), saying it would end "the cruel and unnecessary stigma associated with mental illness and substance abuse."...
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Consider This: Parity in peril
. . .Congress should act
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Consider This: Parity in peril
. . .Congress should act
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News: Rally for parity
A rally drew advocates to call attention to time running out to pass a bill ending insurance discrimination for 113 milion people with mental health and addictive disorders. Here Rep. Betty McCullom (D-Mn) makes the case for what happens to families who must use the emergency room because insurance they lack insurance or veterans are handed a "1-800 number." The proposed legislation makes insurance coverage equal for physician and hospital payments when employers offer policies for physical health. Reps....
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News: Rally for parity
A rally drew advocates to call attention to time running out to pass a bill ending insurance discrimination for 113 milion people with mental health and addictive disorders. Here Rep. Betty McCullom (D-Mn) makes the case for what happens to families who must use the emergency room because insurance they lack insurance or veterans are handed a "1-800 number." The proposed legislation makes insurance coverage equal for physician and hospital payments when employers offer policies for physical health. Reps....
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News: Rally planned for parity
With the air going out of this year's Congress, and the fate of parity insurance less certain despite bipartisan and bicameral support, 250 groups are planning a morning rally on Sept. 17.Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN) are scheduled to speak. Sponsors hope the 10-year battle to end insurance discrimination for many will be achieved before the retirement of Sen. Pete Dominici (R-NM) who has been long associated with insurance reform....
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News: Antidepressants fall through "doughnut hole"
An analysis of the impact of the "doughnut hole" for seniors with Medicare Part D with chronic illnesses found that "45% of patients on antidepressants reached the coverage gap in 2007." The study is available from the Kaiser Family Foundation....
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News: Parity for Medicare mental health
By an overwhelming majority in both houses, Congress reversed a bias built into the 1965 law for seniors when it overturned a presidential veto of a Medicare bill. It will take six years for the rates to drop from the current 50 percent to the same 20 percent older Americans pay for physical health, but the reversal is a symbolic and a real achievement and was the focus of intense lobbying by advocacy and consumer organizations. In addition to establishing...
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News: The year of insurance parity
Negotiations over a law for mental health insurance parity appear to be ending, according to a mid-day report from CQ Politics. This ends a 15-year drive to end discrimination, and caps the careers of two of its congressional sponsors. A sticking point was allegedly resolved when Reps. Patrick Kennedy and Jim Ramstad (who is retiring from Congress), dropped requirements making diagnosis for psychiatric and substance abuse disorders depend on the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. The Senate's bill,...
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News: Covering gap in student insurance
A bill aimed to close insurance gaps for up to one year when medical necessity forces a college student to temporarily withdraw is making its way through congressional committees. Michelle's Law (H.R. 2851), named for college student named Michelle Morse, is based on a 2006 New Hampshire law passed after her death from colon cancer. A similar measure became law in New Hampshire in 2006, and last year New Hampshire Rep. Paul Hode introduced this in the House....
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News: House holds on Medicare
By an overwhelming vote of 355 to 59 the House passed a bill (H.R. 6331) stopping cuts to Medicare's physician providers and ended the historic discrimination in co-payments for mental health services. Getting this measure through Congress by July 1 has been a priority of the Democrats and has had the broad support of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Medical Association. Sen. Harry Reid promised the Senate will act swiftly. A second House initiative relevant to mental health...
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Track Legislation: S. 1715
Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) introduced the "Medicare Mental Health Copayment Equity Act of 2007," on June 27, 2007, "to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to eliminate discriminatory copayment rates for outpatient psychiatric services under the Medicare program."
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News: Senate stalls vote on copay for seniors' mental health
Tucked into a bill (S 3101) to prevent a reduction in Medicare physician fees by 10.6 percent was a provision to reduce the insurance copay for psychiatric services. It is currently set at 50 percent, a rate that was set in the 1960s, and the proposal was to reduce this to 20 percent, equal to other health costs. The American Psychiatric Association has been advocating an equal fee for seniors, and also to retain reimbursements making it possible for doctors...
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Track Legislation: S. 2819
Economic Recovery in Health Care Act of 2008, introduced by Sen. John Rockefeller, April 2, 2008, "Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from finalizing, implementing, enforcing, or otherwise taking any action to give effect prior to April 1, 2009"
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News: Talks on insurance parity close gaps
Negotiations over key differences in the bills for mental health insurance parity are moving forward now that the House signaled it is willing to drop its insistence on using the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) to define psychiatric disorders. The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (H.R. 1424) had overwhelming support from 274 co-sponsors, and passed the House by a large margin in March. But using the DSM to define psychiatric and substance...
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Track Legislation: S. 558
Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) introduced the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007 on February 11, 2007: “To provide parity between health insurance coverage of mental health benefits and benefits for medical and surgical services.”
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Track Legislation: H.R. 1424
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) introduced the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 on March 8, 2007: “To amend section 712 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, section 2705 of the Public Health Service Act, section 9812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require equity in the provision of mental health and substance-related disorder benefits under group health plans, to prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance and employment, and for other purposes.”
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News: Dems revisit SCHIP
The Senate Finance Committee held hearings last week to assess the Bush administration’s decision to limit how states enroll children in the insurance program known as SCHIP. At issue is an August directive from the Secretary of Health and Human Services limiting state authority to set enrollment levels based on family income. A number of states hoped to expand the eligibility criteria but the Bush administration argued that would increase a reliance on government at the expense of private insurance....
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Consider This: Shame on McCain
Would John McCain's policy of excluding pre-existing conditions effect people needing mental health care?
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News: Readers discuss parity
A provocative editorial in the New York Times elicited reader response by asking “tricky questions” about what mental health parity should cover and why. The author, Sarah Kershaw, went through a sequence of concerns and also mentioned they are absent in European countries which treat psychiatric conditions as medical problems....
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News: Fiscal woes confusing states
Threatened federal cuts and an economic downturn are stressing states already coping with mounting health related expenses. Yesterday New Jersey's governor announced intentions to expand insurance coverage, similar to Mass., but others are scaling back. And some, such as Ohio, remain resolute that the federal government was not entitled to deny them expansion of programs such as SCHIP at the same time plans are underway to close a mental health facility and save $9 million. In New York, according to...
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News: Conn. discusses insurance limits
The Conn. legislature rejected a bill to restrict insurance coverage for psychologists and social workers. But a threat to non-medical providers still exists in a bill allowing insurance companies to exclude up to five mandates. A spokesperson from the Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, Stephen Karp, worries that mental health coverage would be among those excluded....
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Consider This: Insurance, business interests favor Senate's parity bill
Insurance, business interests favor Senate's parity bill
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News: House votes for parity
The House of Representatives voted 268 to 148 to require equal insurance coverage for mental illnesses and addictive disorders, a measure which would overturn federal approval of discrimination. It’s almost one year to the date since the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act was introduced by Rep. Patrick Kennedy, here testifying at congressional hearings. President Bush once endorsed parity but now says he opposes it for ideological reasons, according to a report in the New York Times....
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Consider This: Wellstone Equity Act needed
Wellstone Equity Act needed
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News: Paying for parity
House leaders are suggesting two sources of revenue to off-set declines as a result of an insurance parity bill (HR 1424). One would come from banning physicians from making referrals to specialty hospitals in which they have a financial interest. The second would require an increase in drug company discounts to state Medicaid programs. The Congressional Quarterly reported that Republicans were worried, saying the offsets could "cause conservative concern." The House measure, which has 273 co-sponsors, is expected to reach...
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News: Raw deal for vets' families
House subcommittee hearings addressed insufficient help for military families, including two million children, needing mental health services. More than half of today’s soldiers have families, yet VA medical facilities have limited their services and have not hired available family therapists. One-in-five soldiers who responded to a survey from the military’s Mental Health Advisory Team reported they were in planning a divorce. The Army Times reports that the Senate rejected a Pentagon request for increased co-pays for prescription drugs under the...
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News: Bush health plans costly
Sara Rosenbaum writes in the Feb. 27th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (free article) that it is an effort to redefine “the role of government in organizing and overseeing the health care marketplace,” not budget, which has driven Bush health proposals. Her case in point is SCHIP, which she calls the "proxy war," but others are in the news. Today, the New York Times says that another Government Accounting Office report (scheduled for release) will again...
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News: One year insurance extension
The House voted a one-year extension of the 1996 mental health insurance law while waiting for a more comprehensive bill to work its way through committees. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) noted that eleven years ago when the Mental Health Parity Act was passed, it was “only partial parity for mental illness and excluded addiction benefits.” Two bills currently under discussion in Congress attempt to plug some of those holes. In the House, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity...
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News: Dems renew fight over SCHIP, Medicaid
Congressional leaders blasted the Bush administration for unilateral decisions curbing eligibility for States Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Medicaid. “Congress made it clear in law that Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program should be there for lower-income kids living without insurance,” said Sen. Max Backaus (D-Mont.) And Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) accused the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of stacking “the deck through administrative fiat” when it disagreed with Congress. A group of ranking Democrats has...
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News: More cuts for poor
The Bush administration bypassed Congress again to issue an administrative directive overruling state policies for Medicaid enrollment, a strategy similar to the one employed in August to limit the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). A spokesman defended the policy of capping enrollment at $41,000 saying it showed compassion for “the neediest.” Critics disagree noting the prerogative to set criteria for Medicaid enrollment has traditionally belonged to the states. Last week's announcement comes when a new report indicates services and...
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News: SCHIP stalemate
After a bruising fight over SCHIP Democrats had to accept defeat in their efforts to expand the current children's health insurance program. With the extension set to expire in March 2009, both parties are calculating how to turn this into an election-year advantage. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Cal), chairman of the House Ways and Means health subcommittee, intends to revisit this, along with revisions to Medicare and physician reimbursement. Related Why SCHIP matters to the mental health community...
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News: Suicide, depression and insurance: states differ
Depression and suicide vary considerably state to state, according to a study released by Mental Health America. But those with barriers to insurance and treatment have higher rates than those with easy access and services. Depression and suicide are closely linked. Thirty thousand people take their own lives each year and suicide is the third leading cause of death for those 15-24 years old. Ranking America's Mental Health was built on state and federal data sets, and individual responses for...
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News: Insurance parity no shoe-in
Disagreements between the House and Senate may "thwart" reconciliation of their respective proposals for mental health parity insurance. According to the Daily Report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, lawmakers have characterized negotiations over the past month as difficult. The House version (HR 1424) is considered a more comprehensive bill, requiring coverage of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) disorders. It would also take effect in Jan. 2008. The Senate bill (S 558), which permits insurers to define the disorders, would be...
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News: House fails to override SCHIP veto
The House failed to gather a two-thirds majority to override a presidential veto of the States Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The largely partisan vote, 273 to 156, included 44 Republicans joining Democrats to override, and two Democrats voting to sustain the veto. Two of each party did not vote. Rep. John Boehner, House Minority leader, accused the Democrats of not paying attention to poor children; Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the president is isolated from the nation's consensus and promised...
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News: Another step for parity bill
By a vote of 32-13, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a bill to eliminate insurance bias in treating mental illness and substance abuse disorders. Five Republicans joined 27 Democrats to approve the measure, but not before Republicans tried to reword it in accord with the Senate version which allows insurance companies, along with business, to specify relevant disorders. This bill has been championed by Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MI), pictured here, who have described their...
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Consider This: "Canvas:" A family portrait
by Phyllis Vine
"Canvas" is an honest and textured portrayal of an ordinary family managing the uncertainties schizophrenia brings to their lives. Marcia Gay Harden (Mary), Joe Pantoliano (John) and Devon Gearhart (Chris) give stunning performances of living on the margin of Mary's illness and hospitalizations while they face an uncertain future. Writer and director Joseph Greco writes without sensationalizing a painful story.

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News: Wellstone Act moving through subcommittees
Today a House subcommittee is expected to approve the "Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act" (HR 1424), the insurance parity bill championed by Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI). The bill has 240 co-sponsors, making it likely to win House approval. Many differences between the Senate (S 558) and House versions have already been ironed out, but a major sticking point is who defines the illness. The Senate's bill relies on providers and employers, while the House version is tagged...
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News: Trent Lott invokes common sense
Blogging on the website Human Events, Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss) supported President Bush's veto of SCHIP, and questioned its funding with higher cigarette taxes: "Some contend that when you increase tobacco taxes, tobacco use drops. Common sense, often missing from Washington debates, says we can't have it both ways. If we tax people out of smoking, then we're taxing children off SCHIP." Nearly 435,000 people a year die from tobacco-related causes, many after suffering lengthy and costly medical care. And...
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News: Swift response to Bush's veto of SCHIP
President Bush followed through on promises to veto the States Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which lapsed on Sunday. The veto, the fourth of his presidency, came behind closed doors. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md) said he will not rush to schedule a vote to override, hoping 15 of the 159 who originally voted against the measure will change their minds. Meanwhile, contradictory messages are coming from the White House. Bush told a crowd in Lancaster, Pa., that he...
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News: Barriers hurt the vulnerable
The former Commissioner of Public Health in Massachusetts, Christine Ferguson, explains in a recent article in Health Affairs how barriers prevent vulnerable people from getting needed care. When it comes to getting mental health services, she says: Mental health services stand out as a major need among poor and disabled children, and yet in many parts of the country there is a grave lack of pediatric mental health providers and services. The interaction between the health and education systems is...
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Consider This: Wall Street eyes psychiatric care
by Phyllis Vine
Wall Street believes there's money to be made in conglomerates owning psychiatric services. Some of these companies have been acquiring hospitals and treatment programs in anticipation of changing federal law. What does this mean for who shapes treatments leading to recovery, and who benefits?
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News: Strengthening wounded warrior bill
Last minute changes to the Defense Authorization Bill include halting a Pentagon practice of discharging soldiers by claiming they had pre-existing mental health problems. About 10 soldiers a day were booted this way, and they lost their medical benefits as a result. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-Mo) told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he doubted pre-existing “personality disorders” afflicted 22,500 soldiers, and he worked with Sen. Barack Obama (D-ILL) to insert corrections to alter this practice. Another recent change came...
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News: SCHIP showdown
Congress and the Bush administration will test wills over the States Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) which the president threatens to veto. Neither bi-partisan endorsements, nor huge public support have moved the president who remains stubbornly opposed to this proven, successful program. The House might vote today on a compromise measure which costs $60 billion over five years ($35 billion more than at present) and is paid for by a hike in cigarette taxes to $1 a pack. At least...
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News: SCHIP--a decade later
A study about SCHIP since its implementation in 1997 concludes that the children's insurance program, which expires on Sept. 30, improved access significantly. The report from Mathematica Policy Research notes retentions varied considerably, ranging from 31percent to 98 percent, and that gaps in enrollment were most evident for kids with special health needs and children of ethnic and racial minorities. SCHIP was particularly important during the recession of 2000-2003, when many families stopped paying for insurance coverage. According to Mathematica,...
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News: A step closer to insurance parity
By unanimous consent Tuesday night, the Senate passed a mental health parity insurance bill (S. 558) eliminating barriers for people seeking treatment for mental illness and addiction disorders. This applies to businesses with 50 or more employees. The bill was co-sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), and Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), both long-time champions of health reform. Domenici is also a former board member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). He previously sponsored the 1996 Mental Health Parity...
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News: Mayo Clinic recommends reform
The Mayo Clinic recommended an overhaul of health care, based on panels of 400 consultants who have been meeting for the last 18 months under the sponsorship of this world-famous hospital. Recommendations address coordinating patient care, restructuring health costs and payments, placing the patient at the heart of the system, and provisions for universal coverage. Friday's report did not address any illness explicitly although when briefing the media, one spokesman acknowledged the importance of including people with complex medical situations...
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News: SCHIP edict harnesses New York
The federal government has declined New York's request to expand SCHIP enrollment to families earning four times the federal poverty level (or roughly $81,000). Another 70,000 kids could be covered by New York's request which currently enrolls 88 percent of those eligible. The Bush administration's edict demands 95 percent enrollment, leading the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to assert, New York "has not demonstrated that its program operates in an effective and efficient manner with respect to the core...
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News: Readers want SCHIP
Letters to the Editor of the New York Times reveal six reasons to embrace the States Children's Health Insurance Program. On its own editorial page, the paper noted "what used to be a problem for low-income families has become a problem for the middle class as well."...
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Consider This: The SCHIP debate heats up
by Phyllis Vine
An MIWatch Commentary addresses the intense reaction to the Bush administration's edict revising the States Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
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News: Reactions to Bush on SCHIP
The response to the administration’s announcement of a unilateral decision to limit SCHIP (States Children's Health Insurance Program) to families earning twice the federal poverty rate has created an August storm. At least 18 states are affected. The edict also requires children to verify that they have been uninsured for at least one year before enrolling; and states must enroll 95 percent of the kids meeting those standards before they may expand. Below is a sample of reactions: In Iowa,...
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News: New bar on SCHIP
The Bush administration has challenged state eligibility criteria in its on-going battle over expanding SCHIP, State Children's Health Insurance Program. State health commissioners received notice of a new federal policy by letter last Friday evening, saying 95 percent of the kids at 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or $41,300 for a family of four, must be enrolled before more children will be accepted. Previously states, especially those with high costs of living, set their own limits -- 300...
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News: States hassle over SCHIP
The Kaiser Foundation reports a debate in the nation's press over expanding insurance for children while Congress hears from locals during its summer break and states are examining their responsibilities. Last week, a Wall Street Journal editorial criticized the vote for SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program), called CHAMP in the House (HR 3162), for appearing as a Trojan Horse to expand government. The editorial took comfort that the president has promised a veto for a measure it termed "so...
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News: What's to debate?
When all studies show a slide in American health indicators -- last in infant mortality (23rd of 23), average life expectancy coming in at 60 years (15th of 19), deplorable rankings in "access, patient safety, efficiency and equity," and with those with a serious mental illness dying 25 years younger, why is there any debate about closing the gap? Ad campaigns began this week targeting five Republicans who voted against SCHIP. The National Republican Congressional Committee predicts it will backfire....
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Consider This: Why SCHIP matters to the mental health community
by Phyllis Vine
The States Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) has huge implications for access to mental health providers and sustained treatments for an additional 3.3 million kids. Who could object?
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News: Senate passes SCHIP
With a safe margin of 68-31, the Senate passed the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Now the House and Senate versions go to conference with a strong likelihood of an agreement before current legislation expires on Sept. 30. Differences needing to be resolved include revenue sources to pay for the program. The House version trims Medicare Advantage, reported to be bloated; and the chambers have differing proposals for hiking cigarettes taxes. Although Republican support was strong ("Covering these children...
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News: House endorses children's health insurance
By a vote of 225-204, the House passed a controversial measure, States Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), to expand insurance coverage for kids from poor and working poor families. Because of the expanded protections for people with a mental illness, the American Psychiatric Association issued an immediate press release applauding the vote for bringing coinsurance down from 50 percent to 20 percent (effective 2008), broadening the number of medications available to treat anxiety disorders and other psychiatric conditions, and trimming...
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News: North Carolina enacts insurance parity
North Carolina has become the latest state to require parity in mental health insurance covering for co-pays, hospitalization and doctors visits....
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News: Trim Medicare Advantage to pay for SCHIP
In a move that's likely to increase open conflict with the Bush administration, House Democrats point to trimming bloated costs of Medicare Advantage to offset increases for SCHIP. Public opinion and the nation's governors want children covered -- even the insurance industry is floating support -- but the president continues to portray this as an "encroachment of the federal government on the health care system."...
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News: Senate panel defies Bush on SCHIP
In clear defiance of President Bush's threatened veto, a bipartisan Senate panel voted 17- 4 to expand health insurance for low-income children. Current funding for the States Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) runs out in Sept. The Senate voted an additional $35 billion over the president's request of $5 billion a year, providing for more than three million kids. Six million still have no coverage....
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News: Wellstone Equity Act voted out of committee
The House Education and Labor Committee voted to approve the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act (HR 1424) by a vote of 33-9. Eight Republicans joined the majority of Democrats. Before the final vote, an amendment to substitute the Senate's version of an equity bill (S 558) was defeated. The Wellstone Act next goes to the Committee of Energy and Commerce, then Ways and Means....
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News: Pass parity say former first ladies
Washington Times, July 18, 2007 Former first ladies Betty Ford and Rosalynn Carter urge passage of the Wellstone Act (HR 1424) to end bias and reduce barriers to treating mental illness and substance abuse disorders. Cost for this has been estimated at "less than a loaf of bread per person per month," they say. "Our country can afford to end this discrimination. "...
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News: Veto planned for bipartisan SCHIP deal
AP// San Francisco Chronicle, July 16, 2007 A White House spokesman said President Bush plans to veto the Senate's bipartisan agreement to hike cigarette taxes to pay for the administration's shortfall funding for States Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The White House opposes expanding the program guaranteeing insurance to include poor or working poor parents along with their children....
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News: Emergency rooms as last resort
Boston Globe, July 15, 2007 Paul Krugman began today's New York Times editorial slamming George Bush for a callous remark about the availability of emergency rooms for people lacking health insurance. Along similar line's, yesterday's Boston Globe carried a story about strained emergency room services for a psychiatric crisis. In local Boston hospitals this resulted in 21 complaints, such as staff assaults on patients, broken limbs, and improper restraints contributing to one death....
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News: Who benefits? Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage
Congressman Pete Stark Press Release, June 27, 2007 While Congressman Pete Stark (D-Cal) continues to hold House hearings about Medicare and Medicare Advantage, he has released charts comparing respective costs, benefits, and lifetime caps. Coverage for inpatient psychiatric hospitalization shows a hodge-podge of co-pay and dollar amounts. Medicare Advantage HMOs generally require pre-authorization, and both plans have a 190-day lifetime cap. Other examples compare costs for skilled nursing facilities, medical hospitalization, medical equipment, and home health visits....
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News: Insuring kids--a review of SCHIP
New England Journal of Medicine, July 5, 2007 A Sept 30th deadline for reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) positions poor kids, and those of the working poor, in the middle of a debate over public versus private insurance. And politics: Bush wants to tighten eligibility and cut spending, while Dems want to triple funding....
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News: Military’s TRICARE still failing
AP // SignOnSanDiego, June 10, 2007 The Associated Press reports continuing problems with TRICARE when it comes to mental health services. TRICARE is the military insurance program run by the Department of Defense but soldiers and their families are having difficulty with its coverage. Some have been forced to drive two hours or more for therapists, others spend months finding one who is appropriate to a need (such as grief counseling for child, others have given up altogther because reimbursements...
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News: Advocates cheer Colorado’s governor
Rocky Mountain News, May 31, 2007 Colorado’s Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law four bills expanding mental health services helping children and older Americans, including those suffering from substance abuse disorders, anorexia and PTSD. They strengthen programs allowing the elderly to remain in their homes to receive needed services, and increase the numbers of disorders included under mental illnesses....
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News: Psychiatrists too cozy with drug companies?
New York Times, May 10, 2007 “From 2000 to 2005, drug maker payments to Minnesota psychiatrists rose more than sixfold, to $1.6 million. During those same years, prescriptions of antipsychotics for children in Minnesota’s Medicaid program rose more than ninefold,” according to the New York Times....
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News: Richardson calls for expanded coverage
Fosters Online, May 7, 2007 One solution for ending patchwork insurance coverage and inequities comes from Gov. Bill Richardson, Democratic governor of New Mexico and presidential aspirant, who recommended using the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program to establish a platform. The federal program, available to all government employees, is the standard Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-MN) have suggested for mental health parity insurance because it employs DSM criteria for diagnosing a mental illness....
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News: CBO report on SCHIP
Kaisernetwork.org, May 11, 2007 To address questions about SCHIP (States Childrens Health Insurance Program) and the program's ability to provide insurance to children from low-income families, the Congressional Budget Office published a study enumerating eligibility criteria, with funding and threshold levels. The Daily Report of the Kaiser Family Foundation summarized some of the differences of key members of the Sentate Finance Committee....
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News: Interruptions of medication under Medicare Part D
American Journal of Psychiatry, May, 2007 abstract $$ The American Journal of Psychiatry reports about a survey asking psychiatrists about the transition months when Medicare Part D was implemented. More than half reported their patients found impediments to obtaining medication. Nearly one-quarter (22.3%) temporarily stopped or discontinued their medicines; slightly more than one-quarter of those had an adverse clinical reaction. Almost one-fifth visited an emergency room....
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News: Campaign to expand Medicare, shorten waiting period
Dallas News April 27, 2007 The lack of health care for 45 million uninsured Americans continues to occupy Congressional attention. In the last week, Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) introduced a bill (H.R. 2034 with12 co-sponsors) calling for a universal Medicare benefit. Too, efforts to close the two-year wait before disabled Americans can enroll in Medicare is gathering momentum on Capitol Hill following a report from The Medicare Rights Center documenting the catastrophic health, financial and family impacts of the 1972...
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News: Seniors pay more under Medicare Part D
A study released by Families USA shows that drug prices under Medicare Part D grew substantially faster than inflation, and more than claims made by the Bush administration. For the antidepressant Lexepro (10 mg), the price increased to $812.16 from $706.20, or 15 percent. This comes on the same day Senate Republicans held tight preventing the vote on a bill requiring Medicare to negotiate over prices....
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News: Parity insurance should be evidence based
New York Times op-ed argues that parity without evidence-based criteria for diagnosis and treatment misses the point....
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Interviews: Q & A with Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-MN) on insurance parity
by Phyllis Vine
Rep. Jim Ramstad talks about insurance parity which will put psychiatric and addi tive disorders on par with physican ailments.
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News: Medicare Advantage boosts contracts for HMOs
Publicly traded shares of Humana, Inc., jumped after the announcement that private insurance companies will receive 3.5% for managing Medicare Advantage. The government spends 12% more for Medicare Advantage than for traditional Medicare. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Cal.), who chairs the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee and has been holding hearings on Medicare, told the Associated Press, “Current overpayments are unsustainable in light of our competing priorities.”...
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News: Capitol Hill abuzz discussing equity for mental illness
Rep. Pete Stark (D-CAL), who chairs the House Ways and Means Health, introduced legislation (HR 1663) calling for increasing Medicare services (including lower co-pays and longer hospitalization) for the elderly, many of whom display symptoms of mental illness that are unrelated to aging. This bill is independent of the legislation Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN) introduced asking for parity of insurance coverage based on DSM IV standards....
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Consider This: Representative Patrick Kennedy on Parity
Testimony of Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) before the House Ways and Means Committee on Health, March 27, 2007, on behalf of mental health parity insurance.
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News: Kennedy father and son disagree
The New York Times calls the difference between Senator Ted Kennedy and his son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, one of pragmatism versus passion for enacting mental health insurance parity. Senate and House bills differ on parity Word play alone should not obscure variations in the bill each chamber is considering to correct well-known disparities covering people with serious mental illness. Both, the the Senate version (S. 558) sponsored by Senator Pete Dominici with 25 co-sponsors, and the House version (HR 1424)...
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Commentary: Mental Health Parity: Its Time Has Come
by Ralph Ibson
Insurance coverage for mental illnesses has lagged far behind that accorded physical conditions. Now the Senate and the House are considering closing loopholes in the 1996 law. If passed, Ralph Ibson explains how this will contribute to ending discrimination and stigma for treatment of psychiatric disorders.
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News: Mass. insurance law not a panacea
The new Massachusetts law mandating health insurance for all requires enrollment in one of seven private insurance plan. The noble effort for coverage for the state’s uninsured has come under fire from Consumer Watch Dog for its staggering costs. One feature called co-insurance (not the prefixed co-pay) requires consumers to pay up to one-third of hospital costs, and other features include caps for hospitalization, caps for out-of-pocket costs set at $10,000 for a family of four, and premiums in excess...
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News: Insurance co-pay mediates access to psychotropic meds
A study from Brandeis University published in Clinical Therapeutics shows how insurance health plans maintain cost control to manage access to psychotropic drug choices....
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News: Privacy and electronic health records – GAO issues warnings
Insufficient protection of patient records is a problem in President Bush's request (2004) for the creation of electronic medical records. A new GAO report enumerates some of these difficulties, but does not identify the unique problems faced by consumers of mental health services where stigma, the criminalization of mental illness and insurance barriers remain....
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News: Another round for insurance parity legislation
The Senate introduced a bi-partisan bill for health insurance to cover mental illness and substance abuse. It aims to expand coverage and end discrimination in employee plans. State parity laws, many with incomplete coverage, are also inconsistent, and the president of Mental Health America, David Shern, noted that millions of people are excluded from them. Limiting access to “needed health care based solely on society's characterization of an illness raises a profound civil rights issue,” he said. Another bill to...
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